If mixing avocados with chocolate is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Lately, whenever I bite into a perfectly ripe, creamy avocado, I find myself dreaming of dessert. Don’t worry, guacamole still has a place in my heart, but this chocolate avocado frosting? Fuhgeddaboudit.
And brownies made with avocado? Fuhgeddaboudit even more.
By now you’ve probably figured out that I love baking with healthier ingredients (hello, entire purpose of this blog). While I’m always looking for new ways to transform classic desserts into healthier versions of themselves, I never, ever want to do so at the expense of flavor. I’m not interested in force-feeding myself crappy brownies in the name of health. So, yes, these brownies have avocados in them, and yes, they are pretty good for you, but the reason I love them is that they taste good. 
Actually, they taste better than good. Somehow these humble, healthy ingredients transform into fudgy, rich, intensely chocolate-y brownies. Brownies you can feel confident serving to your grandparents, who only like boxed brownies. Brownies you could chop up and bring to an ice cream sundae party (wait- you do go to ice cream sundae parties, right?) to let everyone shower their ice cream bowls with chunks of chocolate-y goodness. Brownies that would make you do a happy dance in your kitchen, even when you’re having the longest, most heart-breaking week of your life. 
See, I didn’t set out to make these taste sort-of like brownies. I didn’t want a healthy dessert that barely reminded me of a brownie, and would kind of satisfy my chocolate cravings while mostly making me sad that I wasn’t eating a real-deal brownie. Nope. I wanted a real-deal tasting brownie that happened to have healthier ingredients. Like avocados, because apparently I can’t stop tossing them into dessert. 
I hope you’ll give this recipe a try, even if you’re wary of the whole avocados-as-desserts situation. Take it from me, who sampled a sliver of brownie every time I walked through the kitchen until, oops, I had eaten a quarter of the pan- you may never go back to a brownie made without avocados ever again.
If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below, or take a picture and tag me on Instagram or Facebook. Happy weekend, friends!
Fudgy Dark Chocolate Avocado Brownies
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup mashed avocado from 1 large, very ripe avocado
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour can sub all-purpose, if needed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8-inch pan with parchment; set aside.
- 2. Mash your avocado and measure out 2/3 cup. Whisk avocado with coconut oil, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla until completely smooth. Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- 3. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Brownies should still be slightly soft in the center when you take them out of the oven. Mine were perfect at 18 minutes.
- 4. Allow brownies to cool, then cut and eat. Store leftovers at room temperature for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for 5.
Notes
For those of you who have been asking, I am doing alright. My heart is still hurting, and I find myself overcome with sadness a few times a day. Little things like the realization that my block 4 class now has 15 kids in it instead of 16, or that I need to print out new rosters so Martin’s name isn’t on them, suck the air right out of my lungs and leave me feeling empty. Big things like the fact that his father has to plan a funeral for 5 of his family members at once, or that random pieces of schoolwork that I have left of Martin’s will be the only belongings his father will ever have of his kind, intelligent, loving son- those things reduce me to a sobbing wreck of emotions. If you’re interested in making a donation to this family, here’s the link. Even a dollar or two would be much appreciated. As I said Tuesday, their house was truly burned to the ground, taking all of their belongings- and most of their family- with it. Even their cars caught fire; nothing is left.